Vitriol
by Random Guise
Summary: A short prequel to the 1953 movie "Stalag 17" from which the series "Hogan's Heroes" is roughly based. In this, we get a brief glimpse into the mindset of J.J. Sefton and the origin of his attitude. I don't own these characters, and my silverware isn't made out of silver.


**A/N: A short look into the character of J.J. Sefton in a prequel to the movie "Stalag 17".**

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Vitriol

"Tell me Sefton, just what _IS_ your problem anyway?" Sergeant Swanson asked in a low voice. In a rare moment of peace during the Officer Candidate School, the sergeant tried to use the opportunity to figure out what the trouble was with one of his charges. He couldn't put his finger on it, but John Sefton just wasn't fitting in with the others. As the two sat in the mess hall lingering, he grabbed the initiative.

"I've got no problem with you, Sergeant."

"Not me. Not even the Air Force. You don't fit in with the other men, and I'm trying to find out why."

"Why? Could it be because I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth? Listen Sarge, where I came from if you had a silver spoon somebody stole it as soon as you turned your back – and then as likely as not they'd hit you over the head with it. I didn't fit in there, but I was too poor to just move out. So I scrounged, and saved, and made a buck where I could to get out of there and then the war came along. I figured the best way to survive was to become an officer, so I kept pestering people until I got into OCS. You know what I found? Pampered pretty boys who can scarcely get their hands dirty without running back to mommy and daddy the first chance they get. I never had a home to run back to, so I had to figure out how to do things myself."

"You're wrong, Sefton, and I recommend you get that chip off your shoulder before somebody knocks it AND your head off with it. Take Dunbar for instance. Yeah, his family has money but the man is honest, smart and willing to work. He's going to be a fine officer."

"Don't be so sure. Money makes a man soft; if not at first, then bit by bit as he gets used to his cushy lifestyle. I've talked to James Dunbar and I tell you his family has so much money there's no way he isn't going to end up with a desk job back at the home office, safe from the war. "

"You got it all figured out, huh?"

"I look at everything in terms of odds, risk and return, Sarge."

"So you're going to calculate your way to the top of the heap and show 'em all, right?"

"Right."

"So then you can get soft; remember, that's what happens bit...by...bit" the sergeant emphasized. "And you'll being singing 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' to prove them all wrong."

Dunbar started to seethe on the inside until his ears burned, but he clenched his teeth and choked back his retort; he hated that song, from the first time he ever heard it. "If you'll excuse me Sarge, I've got work to do unless you've got some more sterling advice for me" he said as he stood. Waiting only a moment, he turned and walked off.

"We all do, Sefton" the military man said to the retreating candidate. That pretty well took care of the interview, and explained a few things. The sergeant had gotten a few scattered reports of an attitude problem with candidate Sefton; what at first he ascribed to as a grudge against the military for being made to fight was now obviously an attitude against anyone who was more affluent than him.

Swanson sighed. Sefton was physically fit, obviously smart and a cool operator. But that attitude was not going to work as an officer no matter how skilled he was. If he insisted on being in the Air Force, it was going to be as an enlisted man. He'd be swallowed up in the morass of humanity that was coming through the military now, just another ordinary soldier of modest background. Swanson had no doubt that with Sefton's ability to work angles he'd find his niche somewhere; he might even build an empire out of it in time. Maybe, just maybe, he'd come out a better person for it.

Swanson picked up his clipboard and made a final notation in his report before standing and returning to the barracks. There were still a few others he needed to talk to before his report was complete. He didn't like washing anybody out, but his job was to look at it from a personality point of view and he'd be damned if he was going to jeopardize the _esprit de corps_.

The End

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**A/N: As William Holden's character lay brooding on the bunk in the movie while the other prisoners paraded around to the music, I imagined him hating the song; after all, his initials in the movie were J.J. and I figured he was more miserable than just being framed for someone else's crime. His dislike of the Lieutenant James Dunbar character in the movie wasn't for the man himself, just his family's position in society. This helps explain that point a little better.**

***spoiler alert* As it turned out, after Sefton got Dunbar back to safety again not only did the officer's family reward him, but he ended up marrying James' sister. Some say it wasn't even for the money...**


End file.
